RATING / ESRB / A Created with Sketch. RATING / ESRB / E Created with Sketch. RATING / ESRB / E10 Created with Sketch. RATING / ESRB / M Created with Sketch. RATING / ESRB / T Created with Sketch.
RATING / PEGI / 12 Created with Sketch. RATING / PEGI / 16 Created with Sketch. RATING / PEGI / 18 Created with Sketch. RATING / PEGI / 3 Created with Sketch. RATING / PEGI / 7 Created with Sketch. icon_pin Created with Sketch.

Riven (1997)

in library

4.6/5

( 155 Reviews )

4.6

155 Reviews

English & 7 more
5.995.99
Why buy on GOG.COM?
DRM FREE. No activation or online connection required to play.
Safety and satisfaction. Stellar support 24/7 and full refunds up to 30 days.
Riven (1997)
Description
“My worst fears have been realized. The damage is more extensive than previously imagined. I must act while there is still time. I must find someone… to send to Riven.”   Enter a deceptively beautiful world torn apart by age-old conflicts, where secrets lie hidden at every turn, and not...
Genre:
User reviews

4.6/5

( 155 Reviews )

4.6

155 Reviews

{{ review.content.title }}
Product details
1997, Cyan Worlds, ...
System requirements
Windows 10+, 64-bit, 1.8 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 7.5 GB, DirectX® 9.0 compatible...
Time to beat
9.5 hMain
12 h Main + Sides
13 h Completionist
10.5 h All Styles
Description

“My worst fears have been realized. The damage is more extensive than previously imagined. I must act while there is still time. I must find someone… to send to Riven.”

 

Enter a deceptively beautiful world torn apart by age-old conflicts, where secrets lie hidden at every turn, and nothing is as it seems. Search through dense jungles, awe-inspiring caverns and monolithic structures. Use your wits and powers of observation to solve devious puzzles and find secretive characters. Only then will you learn the truth about this troubled land and its inhabitants. You must let Riven become your world— before an entire world is lost.

 

Experience the beauty of Riven, released in 1997, featuring the original point-and-click gameplay style, with almost five thousand images and over three hours of full motion video.

Copyright © 1997 - 2025 Cyan Worlds, Inc. All rights reserved.

Goodies
manual (18 pages)
System requirements
Minimum system requirements:

This game is powered by ScummVM.

This game is powered by ScummVM.

Why buy on GOG.COM?
DRM FREE. No activation or online connection required to play.
Safety and satisfaction. Stellar support 24/7 and full refunds up to 30 days.
Time to beat
9.5 hMain
12 h Main + Sides
13 h Completionist
10.5 h All Styles
Game details
Genre:
Works on:
Windows (10, 11), Mac OS X (12+)
Release date:
{{'1997-11-30T00:00:00+02:00' | date: 'longDate' : ' +0200 ' }}
Size:
5.6 GB

Game features

Languages
English
audio
text
Deutsch
audio
text
español
audio
text
français
audio
text
italiano
audio
text
polski
audio
text
русский
audio
text
日本語
audio
text
GOG Preservation Program
We make games live forever! Since 2008 we enhance good old games ourselves, to guarantee convenience and compatibility with modern systems. Even if the original developers of the game do not support it anymore.
  1. This game will work on current and future most popular Windows PC configurations. DRM-free.
  2. This is the best version of this game you can buy on any PC platform.
  3. We are the only platform to provide tech support for the games we sell. If some issues with the game appear, our Tech Support will help you solve them.
What improvements we made to this game:
Update (13 November 2024)
  • Validated stability
  • Verified compatibility with Windows 10 and 11
  • Verified Cloud Saves support
Internal Update (19 April 2022)
  • [WIN] Removed Launcher_Riven.exe from the build due to various false positive AV triggers
SVM update3 (30 July 2018)
  • Fix for missing page in Gehn's journal in the localized versions
  • Fix for crash when using the D'ni numbering system game in Jungle island in the localized versions
  • Fix for missing credits after the ending video in the Polish version
  • Enabled bilinear filtering by default. This results in pixels being less visible at the cost of the loss of some detail. Users seem to prefer to have it enabled. Advanced users can use the Ctrl-Alt-F shortcut to enable / disable it at will
  • Fix for an escape key spamming issue
  • Fix for where Polish is showing a white screen before the credits play
  • Fix for where Spanish is hitting a crash on the first bad ending
Internal Update (2 July 2018)
  • [WIN] Fixed issue with game not starting correctly until language selector has been used at least once
  • [WIN] Language can now be chosen during install (offline setup) or via Galaxy. Language setup was not removed, allowing offline users to change game language without reinstalling
  • [WIN] Changing language will now apply to ScummVM GUI as well
  • [WIN] Filtering has been disabled in default configuration
Internal Update (6 June 2018)
  • [WIN] Tweaked default ScummVM configuration
Update (18 December 2017)
  • Moved Riven to ScummVM support
IMPORTNANT NOTE:
  • In order to load you previous DVD saves, they need to be located in game main folder and renamed as following: riven-000.rvn, riven-001.rvn, etc.
Buy series (6)
Buy all games in the series. If you already own a game from the series, it won’t be added to your cart.
61.94
Check out now
You may like these products
Users also bought
User reviews

Posted on: March 14, 2011

Nightwalker100

Verified owner

Games: 10 Reviews: 1

A piece of art

several years ago, when i was a little kid, i played this game with my uncle and had a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the beautiful scenery although i couldn't solve any of the puzzles. Now i bought the game on gog and am still amazed from the graphics. The puzzles are hard, but always logical, it just takes time to solve them. This game is a piece of art, you can just go around and look at the beautiful landscape. The installation is very easy, you'll get an installer which does everything for you ;) $6 is a great price for this game. Greetings from Germany and happy gaming


Is this helpful to you?

Posted on: January 24, 2012

Melkior_King

Verified owner

Games: 16 Reviews: 2

More difficult than MYST

Speaking personally, I found Riven to be far more difficult than Myst. The puzzles seem more esoteric and less intuitive than in Myst (and Myst's puzzles were already esoteric and somewhat counter-intuitive). I didn't find Riven to be as enjoyable as Myst, but if you like a puzzle-based, story-driven game where you need to exercise your imagination to its limits, you'll probably enjoy Riven.


Is this helpful to you?

Posted on: April 23, 2010

SlideshowDreams

Verified owner

Games: 380 Reviews: 1

Absolutely Beautiful

Though perhaps a little forgotten, the Myst series still stands among the giants of the adventure genre, and Riven is one of the best. Between the deep storyline, immaculate sound design and music, and wonderfully detailed and realistic eviroments brought to life by graphics that still manage to look nothing short of amazing today, Riven does a superb job establishing a world and atmosphere. Be warned though, this is easily the hardest Myst game (Closely followed by Myst IV). The puzzles will chew you up and spit you out, but fortunately online guides are easier to come by then they were when the game was first released. The port works very well, with only two real problems. First, since all the images are pre-rendered they only exist at a single resolution. Most of the time the game automatically stretches the images to fit your screen, making things a little pixilated. However if you minimize the game the images snap back to their original resolutions, which look down right tiny by todays standards. The only way to fix this is to quit and restart. The journals can also be a problem. Sometimes clicking on the wrong spot on a page causes the book to flip multiple pages at a time instead of just one. Usually this can be resolved by simply clicking somewhere else, but on occasion those other spots can be hard to find. In all if you're looking for slower pase of game to twist your mind into oblivion with it's devilish puzzles and unbeatable world, look no further. Riven is the first, last, and only choice.


Is this helpful to you?

Posted on: November 12, 2011

bharris057

Verified owner

Games: 38 Reviews: 1

A bit dated, but still amazing

Riven is a triumph of design featuring photo-realistic scenery, creative puzzles, and a solid plot. I grew up playing this game and thus I have a deep, nostalgic connection with the world of Riven. Unfortunately, the game's "slideshow" style navigation is beginning to show its age and may not appeal to younger gamers; however, the game still offers hours of entertainment.


Is this helpful to you?

Posted on: July 27, 2013

sproffit

Verified owner

Games: 9 Reviews: 1

keeps crashing on 7 and 8

I cant keep the game running long enough to enjoy it. I owned this game on win 95 and it worked but 12 years later and this new version wont run for more than 10 minutes on either win 7 or win 8


Is this helpful to you?

1
...
...
5
7
9
...
...
28

Something went wrong. Try refresh page.

This game is waiting for a review. Take the first shot!
{{ item.rating }}
{{ item.percentage }}%
Awaiting more reviews
An error occurred. Please try again later.

Other ratings

Awaiting more reviews

Add a review

Edit a review

Your rating:
Stars and all fields are required
Not sure what to say? Start with this:
  • What kept you playing?
  • What kind of gamer would enjoy this?
  • Was the game fair, tough, or just right?
  • What’s one feature that really stood out?
  • Did the game run well on your setup?
Inappropriate content. Your reviews contain bad language. Inappropriate content. Links are not allowed. Review title is too short. Review title is too long. Review description is too short. Review description is too long.
Not sure what to write?
Filters:

No reviews matching your criteria

Written in
English Deutsch polski français русский 中文(简体) Others
Written by
Verified ownersOthers
Added
Last 30 daysLast 90 daysLast 6 monthsWheneverAfter releaseDuring Early Access

Delete this review?

Are you sure you want to permanently delete your review for Riven (1997)? This action cannot be undone.

Report this review

If you believe this review contains inappropriate content or violates our community guidelines, please let us know why.

Additional Details (required):

Please provide at least characters.
Please limit your details to characters.
Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Report this review

Report has been submitted successfully.
Thank you for helping us maintain a respectful and safe community.